Astronomers are revising predictions a renegade star may end life as we know it 29,000 years from now.
The findings were published earlier this year in a journal of astrophysics research and relate to the star WD 0810–353, a white dwarf. Previous research based on observations from the European Space Agency’s Gaia telescope suggested the star could be moving in our direction. While it may not directly hit Earth, researchers speculated the heavenly body could pass close enough to our solar system to disrupt the Oort cloud, sending some of its comets and icy debris hurtling our way.
Scientists are now rethinking that conclusion after taking into account the star’s magnetic field.
Closer examination of the white dwarf has revealed it has an unusually large magnetic field. This was determined while viewing the star through the Very Large Telescope (VLT) located in northern Chile’s remote Atacama Desert.
Researchers there combined data gathered from the telescope with findings from the Focal Reducer and Low Dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2), an instrument that examines the color spectra of celestial light.
The researchers determined the findings based on observations from the Gaia telescope were inaccurate, with the light emitted from the star distorted by its magnetic field. This led the scientists to conclude the star likely isn’t headed toward our solar system at all.
The findings suggest a reprieve for our planet, at least for another 5 billion years. At that point astronomers say our sun will run out of hydrogen, swelling into a red giant that engulfs Earth and the other planets of our solar system.
Humanity’s survival at that point may depend on whether we’ve been able to colonize other planets---and if, of course, we survive long enough to overcome more immediate threats such as climate change.